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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Carlson promises more running, winning SOU's new head coach excited about returning to Oregon to take over winning program Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 28, 2015 at 1:15 PM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 28, 2015 at 1:15 PM » Social News Alex Carlson’s life may be a little helter-skelter at the moment, with opposing roots stretching some 2,700 miles across North America, but as far as he’s concerned that’s a small price to pay for being hired as the next women’s basketball coach at Southern Oregon University. “Everything has been flipped on its head for me,” he said. “It’s a little crazy, but we say it’s a good crazy.” The “we” refers to Carlson, his wife Courtney and their two sons, 5-year-old Jakob and 2-year-old Michael. The Carlson family is still figuring out the details, but Alex Carlson says the move from Anchorage, Ala., to Ashland will be complete soon enough, and it’s one he, his family and his extended family have been looking forward to since he left Pacific University in Forest Grove two years ago to become an assistant coach at Alaska Anchorage, an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. A former Oregon Tech standout who helped the Owls claim a national title in 2004, the 32-year-old Carlson was named the Raiders’ next head coach on May 21. He replaces Lynn Kennedy, who went 208-105 in 10 years at SOU before resigning in April to take over Portland State’s struggling women’s program. Carlson, who will make $55,000 annually at Southern Oregon, said he and his wife fell in love with Ashland during their visit for the interview a few weeks ago and, though he felt the interview went well, “sat on pins and needles” while waiting for the university to come to a decision. He was at a cousin’s house in Culver, where he grew up, when he received the big call from SOU athletic director Matt Sayre. “My whole family is pretty pumped up,” he said. “I’m pretty popular with the folks right now. “It was a great interview process, and all those things just reaffirmed that I was getting into a great situation. My wife came down and we went around town and looked at the campus. It was just one of those things that we got really excited about. …And my sister’s an elementary school teacher, so she told us how great the (Ashland) schools are. And when you’re coming from the Alaska winters …I had a great experience there, but being here and seeing people outside, walking around town, it was pretty cool to see.” Now, Carlson has turned his attention to preparing his new team, fresh off its first NAIA tournament win since 1999, for the 2015-16 season. He hopes to arrive in Ashland for good next week in order to get the Raiders locked in to his summer conditioning program. It’s also a crucial time to get to know the players, he said. Carlson inherits a seasoned roster accustomed to success. The Raiders will lose four senior to graduation, but returning is a pair of Cascade Conference all-stars and seniors-to-be, point guard Ashley Claussen and forward Carly Meister. SOU also returns 6-foot-4 sophomore-to-be Courtney West, an Australia native who showed great promise while averaging 9.1 points and 6.3 rebounds as a freshman, and junior-to-be Autumn Durand, who averaged 10.7 points and started 30 games last season. Also, Kennedy, before leaving, recruited three prep standouts, one from Wyoming, another from the Bay Area, and Crater 6-foot post Courtney Setzer, who led Class 5A in scoring with 18.8 points per game. Carlson has already contacted all three and assured them that the team’s fast-paced playing style and commitment to success will remain the same, and he said all three have remained committed to SOU. “It would be hard if our style completely changed, but that won’t be the case,” he said. “This job is unique because with most first-time head coaches you’re walking into a program that’s in the gutter, and that’s why you’re hired. That’s not the case at all here. The culture’s great and they have outstanding players, so my job is to get to know them and make them familiar with me.” Carlson said SOU’s immediate needs call for “a big and a wing”, which he’ll be trying to land in the coming months. But in general, he’s more concerned with overall potential than he is with filling a spot. That’s the benefit of taking over a team that’s well built, he added. “I feel very lucky because we have a great point guard [Claussen] and we have outstanding size,” he said. “We have a point guard and a big [Meister] that are all-conference already, so that’s a great start. And what I saw was a lot of young wings, and the young post from Australia, that are ready to take the next step. So to me, it’s just about finding the greatest players available, not necessarily this position or that position, because we don’t really have any glaring holes.” Carlson, like Kennedy, coaches a go-go-go style that Carlson says lends itself to both recruiting and filling seats. Under Kennedy, the Raiders scored at a record pace — his last three teams are at the top of SOU’s all-time team scoring list — and were just as aggressive on defense. Carlson said the Raiders will continue to push the pace, but the defense he plans to install will be something new here. He coaches a trapping zone defense similar to the “amoeba defense” popularized by the great UNLV men’s basketball teams of the early 1990s. It’s worked wonders at Alaska Anchorage, which led the nation in steals the last two seasons. “It’s been very successful, so we’re going to bring that defense with us and I think it’ll be really effective for this team,” he said. Carlson takes over a program that has won 20 games or more six out of the last eight seasons. The Raiders were 27-5 last season, advanced to the Sweet 16 and were ranked No. 13 in the NAIA Division II postseason poll. Carlson expects more of the same. “This is not a rebuilding year or anything of that sort,” he said. “It’s different because there’s a different coach, but that’s what I talked about during the interview — we’re coming here to win championships. We plan on competing year in and year out for our conference championship. I feel like this is the best job in the league, so if I’m doing my job we’re going to be up high in the standings every year.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 28, 2015 at 1:15 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Fantasy Football Outlook for Cowboys Stars May. 29, 2015 at 2:26 am Fantasy Breakdown of Top Quarterbacks May. 24, 2015 at 2:51 am Fantasy Football Outlook for Patriots' Stars May. 22, 2015 at 6:05 am Fantasy Football Outlook for Eagles Stars May. 18, 2015 at 12:35 am Early Fantasy Football Rankings May. 17, 2015 at 4:22 am Fantasy Football Stars Likely to Disappoint May. 15, 2015 at 2:02 am Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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